Different types of pedestrian crossings

• A pelican crossing is a crossing on a road controlled by a sequence of lights arranged to allow pedestrians to cross the road in safety.
• A puffin crossing is a crossing on a road controlled by a sequence of lights arranged to allow pedestrians to cross the road in safety. A puffin crossing is arranged so it responds to a pedestrian using the crossing.
• A toucan crossing is a crossing on a road controlled by a sequence of lights arranged to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the road in safety.
• Traffic signals control road junctions with a sequence of lights to share out the use of the same space by allocating time for competing demands, eg drivers and pedestrians.

Using puffin crossings

A number of new puffin crossings have been introduced in York to replace some of the older style pelican crossings. Puffin crossings offer a number of benefits to both pedestrians and drivers, some of which are outlined below:

Safer for pedestrians

• The sensors that detect you at a puffin crossing also control the traffic lights, making sure you have enough time to cross the road safely.
• Because there is no flashing amber light stage, vehicles are less likely to start moving before you have finished crossing.
• You can see the red & green man signals and watch traffic approaching at the same time.
• Partially sighted pedestrians can see the red & green man signals more easily than a signal located on the other side of the road.

Better for drivers

• Traffic lights change to green as soon as the crossing is clear, so drivers will no longer be stopped unnecessarily if there are no pedestrians on the road.
• Traffic will not be stopped if pedestrians push the button and then cross the road before the lights change to red, or if they push the button then change their mind and walk away from the crossing.

Puffin crossings help to cut delays and improve the flow of traffic, as well as increasing pedestrians' safety. An information leaflet produced by the Department for Transport can be downloaded in pdf format from this page.

The following public information video about puffin crossings has also been produced by the Department for Transport:

>> How To Cross The Road

Reporting a problem

To report a problem with a crossing or traffic signal (traffic lights) contact Principal Traffic Engineer.

How to request a crossing or traffic signal

All crossings and traffic signals will cause delays to traffic, but the delay caused may be justified if it reduces accidents or reduces delay to side road that otherwise would have no priority in joining a heavy flow of traffic. For these reasons we assess each case very carefully.

If you feel there is a problem that a pedestrian crossing could solve please contact us.

Are there any rules?

The delay that pedestrians and cyclists currently experience when attempting to cross the road needs to be significant and extend over a reasonable part of the day.

For traffic signals there are a lot of regualtions set out by Parliament that we need to satisfy.

Cost

There is no cost for requesting a possible placement of a pedestrian crossing.

How long does it take?

There is a lot of work to do in deciding if a crossing or traffic signals can be safely provided. We will need to:

• do surveys
• check accident records and decide if the overall benefits are worth the problems associated with having the crossing or traffic signals

If we feel that a crossing or traffic signals would be a good idea we also need to get councillors to allocate the money required. An initial decision should be possible within around four months

Unfortunately we cannot guarantee that your request will eventually be implemented.